Hellflower (v1.1) (20 page)

Who’d be thrilled to find me shopping kick for Vannet, make few mistakes about it. Even if it wasn’t true.

"Going into the Roaq any time soon, stardancer?" said Rimini. This was bad. This was real bad.

"Just say yes. Of course, if you decide to change your mind anywhere along the way, I guarantee to make you the most popular darktrader in the Empire."

With headprice, and charges, and up-to-date hollies on what me and my ship looked like. The heat that’d drop then would make the hold order look easy to beat.

"Could make sure you go down too, Rimini," I suggested.

"I don’t think so. The Office of the Question likes a little proof, at least. You won’t even survive the first scan . . . dicty-girl. And after that they won’t believe a thing you have to say."

I didn’t have to fake giving up. Rimini had me cold-because Rimini had the missing piece of the jigsaw.

If it was as simple as crying Library, Rimini would of owned me years ago. But you couldn’t just whistle up a High Book investigation any old time. Drawing me in to a real one was another matter-that, and knowing I couldn’t even afford to say "yes-sir-thank-you-sir" to an Imperial Officer. Because I was dicty. Spell that D-E-A-D.

"Butterfly, you will have to take her cargo to the Roaq," said my RTS. Paladin’d been following the conversation through the remote terminal, and chose now to cast his vote on the side of crazy.

"Of course, you’re wondering what will keep me from holding this over you for the rest of your life. Work it out for yourself. Once Kroon’Vannet is dead, any charges I make against you won’t hold atmosphere," Rimini said.

Time-value blackmail. Cute. But why did Rimini want me to go to Roaq? There was easier ways to kill me. Lots.

"Butterfly. Trust me. Tell her you will do it, and bring Valijon back to
Firecat
. I have a plan. We will all be safe. Valijon will not have to die. Accept Rimini’s offer."

If Paladin’d lost his mind now wasn’t the time to discuss it. "Lift the hold order, Rimini. You just bought yourself a stardancer." She showed off some of her better teeth and it was a miracle I didn’t get frostbite.

"Trade Officer Fenrir, lift the hold order on the Independent ship
Firecat
."

It took Dommie three tries to match his filed voice-print-and add the code-phrase that made Kiffit Port Authority accept it even though he wasn’t there in person.

"The hold order on
Firecat
has been canceled, Butterfly. I scan two more life-forms entering your area," Paladin said.

"There you are, sweeting-free as a bird," said a old familiar voice from behind me. "Aren’t you happy?"

I didn’t bother to look around. "Rimini, you got any more people stashed round this shop? If you do, I’m walking."

"I am starting the preflight on
Firecat
, " Paladin said for my ears only.

"Without your trip-tik? Give the darktrader her trip-tik, Eloi." Rimini made another of her damn elegant gestures, and Captain Eloi Flashheart of the
Woebegone
walked around to where I could see him with my hands on top of my head. He pulled a cassette out of his vest and flipped it to me. It hit me in the chest and bounced to the floor. Eloi looked slightly repentant. Alcatote didn’t look repentant at all. Fenrir looked at Eloi and flinched.

Eloi-the-Red and Rimini’d been in that insurance scam together. I should of expected them to be together now. Eloi’d wanted me to come back to Mother Night’s before. Why else?

"I tried to warn you, sweeting. There are lots of people interested in you. Don’t fight this. Go to Manticore. Stay alive." His voice was chock-full of prime-quality sympathy. Like earlier, at Minjalong’s, where he’d followed me.

A lot of things was queer about this gig, and they was all Eloi. Eloi’d been on Wanderweb in the bar where I picked up my cargo.

Eloi was on Kiffit.

Eloi’d been following me around wondertown.

Eloi knew about my hellflower trouble. He’d said so at Minjalong’s.

"You set me up," I said, putting it all together. "You. Eloi-che-bai. You set me up back on Wanderweb."

Gibberfur hadn’t been doing bidness on his lonesome. He’d been a cut-out. It was Eloi shipping dud Lyricals to Kiffit. That was how he knew where I was going to be, and when. That was how he knew about my hellflower trouble-he’d been to Moke Rahone’s. And he’d gone there so he could be there when I tossed my kick-and Rahone checked it before accepting it.

“You set me up so that Moke Rahone would of found fake songice in his kick. He’d squall, say I’d switched the real ones for fakes. I didn’t, but maybe he could prove I did. Maybe he’d promise to accept the cargo anyway if I did him a small favor jack load of chobosh off Manticore, say, and drop it in the Roaq. I should of been on my way to Manticore bought and paid for by your farced cargo scam by the time Vannet’s hardboys went hunting for to sign my lease. You knew they’d he after me. That’s why you followed me through wondertown. You still needed me.

"Only Moke Rahone was dead, and nobody knew what I’d delivered to him, or when, so you couldn’t use him to make me do what you. wanted. You had to come up with something else. So you and Silver Dagger picked up Dommie to put a hold order on
Firecat
-and he told you about the Chapter 5. You knew I was dicty, Eloi. You knew I couldn’t afford to be investigated."

"So she’s smarter than she looks," said Rimini to Eloi. "Not that that’s difficult."

Eloi shrugged. Did that mean I was right? Puzzle pieces fit, but that was no guarantee, and it still left too many questions unanswered. Why would a notorious Outfar pirate and a high-ticket nightworld brother get together to commit Low Treason by kidnapping Dommie just to get me in trouble? Things like that only happen in talkingbooks. Rimini tapped the hilt of her silver dagger with one expensive ornate fingernail. She brushed back hair the color of high-ticket jewelry and looked pointed-like at Tiggy. Eloi followed her look.

Rimini said something to Tiggy in helltongue that Paladin didn’t translate. He went for his knife and her in one fluid motion and I grabbed him and got cut. I slugged him in the ribs where I knew it’d hurt. Rimini laughed and Tiggy subsided. Growling. I put my hands back on top of my head.

"Put your hands down, little Saint. Obviously you want to go on living," Eloi said. He’d known me long enough ago to make a educated guess about my B-pop. But he’d done better than that. He knew which damn colony in Tahelangone Sector I came from. No need to wonder any more how Rimini knew.

"Yeah. I want to live."

I looked at Tiggy. Couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and he wasn’t about to come out with it in front of the strange
chaudatu.
"Put your hands down, hellflower, we ain’t getting shot tonight."

I picked up the trip-tik.

"Who’s your little friend, St. Cyr-or should I ask?" Rimini said sweetly.

"Honored One," Eloi said to Tiggy, "I and mine would be honored if you would share our walls."

So much for disguises. Eloi knew who Tiggy really was, and it didn’t take stark staring brilliance to see that Eloi was offering Tiggy the chance to jump ship. Tiggy ignored him.

"Butterfly, will you tell him to talk to me? He probably hasn’t told you his name, but he’s from an alMayne GreatHouse, and his House wants him back. Badly. He’s your hellflower trouble that Moke Rahone died for. Send him back to them and you’ll be safe."

Even if Eloi believed himself, he was wrong. "Talk to the pretty pirate, che-bai," I said to Tiggy.

Tiggy favored Eloi with your basic hawk-blue gaze keen as a mountain lake. "I have nothing to say to the
chaudatu
reiver,
alarthme. "
Eloi glared. He was just lucky Tiggy didn’t seem to of followed my explanation of how he’d set me up, or he wouldn’t be in a glaring condition. Tiggy wanted to kill somebody so bad I could feel it.

"Tell him to come with me. I’ll square it for you with his GreatHouse, Butterfly, I swear it. Tell him I’ll take him back to alMayne where he’ll be safe."

"Sure, bai. Alaric Dragonflame just paid solid credit to get him iced and I’m going to give him to you? Farce me no bedtime stories." For once I got to see Eloi boggled.

"What?"

Also forgot I hadn’t let Tiggy in on Paladin’s theory.

"Then Dragonflame’s blood is mine!" Tiggy headed for the door, hand on his knife.

"Your blood is mine first!" I yelled. I grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him back. "Or you forgot all of them pretty helltongue words you sang me?"

Tiggy looked down at me, real bleak and suddenly older.

Honor might be stronger than dirt, but people got limits. We’d find out what his were. Maybe tonight. I hoped that
arthame
of his was worth it.

"No," he said, slow. "I have not forgotten. You condemn me to live without walls, and I must obey."

He didn’t fight me anymore then so I dragged him back and then remembered Eloi and the rest of my audience. Captain Flashheart looked like he had all his questions answered and didn’t like what he’d got, and Rimini looked like she’d be laughing fit to bust a gut if it wasn’t against her religion. Not good.

"Then you do know who he is-and you still want to drag him around the galaxy with you on this darktrade run?" Eloi said.

"Sure. My idea. Ask Rimini."

Eloi looked unhappy, which was nothing to the way I felt.

"You said you wanted involvement at the highest levels, Eloi," she purred. It was nice to see somebody else take cop from Silver Dagger for a change.

There was a long pause. Rimini looked at Eloi, smirked, gathered up her hardboys, and left. Eloi turned back to me.

"Why do you think that Master Dragonflame is trying to have the boy killed?"

"Why do I got to be one to run cargo into Roaq?" I said right back. Eloi closed up with his best hurt-but-sulky expression. He wouldn’t geek.

"Honored One-" Eloi said to Tiggy. Tiggy put his hand on his knife. Plain to see, Tiggy Stardust took the position of "my
chaudatu,
right or wrong."

Eloi gave up. "Have a nice trip, Saint Sincere," he snarled.

That was my cue to ankle, leaving way too many witnesses behind. Whatever leverage having Tiggy gave me, it wasn’t enough to buy me free. And to add to my troubles Eloi knew who Tiggy was, and that I had him, and where I was going with him.

And so did somebody else.

"And what keeps Dommie from to sing like songbird Real Soon Now?" I asked.

I knew from the way Eloi twitched when I said it that Dommie wasn’t getting any older after tonight. Now Dommie knew it too. He backed away from the DataNet terminal and Alcatote let him.

"I-
You can’t do this to me— I’m an Imperial officer-I told you what you wanted— I told you about the Library— I’ll tell them it’s her Library-hers and Vannet’s— You have to let me go and-"

"I will finish it." Tiggy got up again from where he’d been sitting and pulled his knife. "Is it your will
, alarthme,
that he should die for bearing false witness against you?"

"Put your damn antique away, hellflower." You’d think Rimini wanted blood all over her rug.

Eloi pulled one of his blasters and set it by the terminal. "Would you rather it was self-defense?"

I have never liked playing games with people that have to be killed.
"Dammit,
Eloi-"

I was trying to face off too many people at once. Dommie went for the heat, just like Eloi’d knew he would. But he was too damn slow, and Tiggy whipped half a meter of
arthame
through his throat from the other side of the room, and then looked at me to see if he’d done it right.

Dommie tried to scream. He jerked Tiggy’s knife loose and died slow enough to know it was happening. It was so damn quiet you could hear the sound of blood hitting the carpet in your basic talkingbook hot scarlet gouts, and for a bad minute I was back in Moke Rahone’s office with a lifetaker at the door.

"Kore-alarthme?
He tried to kill you. He shadowed your honor, he had to die. He would have lied; you have no Library." Tiggy was scared and hurting, and afraid he’d got part of the honor-nonsense wrong, and all I could think of was I’d expected to have to face Dommie off every time I came here for the next twenty standard years. And now I wouldn’t, because Tiggy’d killed him too fast to think.

And Tiggy was still looking at me.

"Je, babby, you done good; he won’t go telling no tales now." Eloi looked sorry, damn him.

"We’re going to leave now, Tiggy-bai. Get your traps."

"Alarthme, "
said Tiggy before he went and got his knife back, "I do not think I like either this place or these people."

The lift opened for us and took us down with no problem. Surprise.

Tiggy was pretty quiet the whole way back from Mother Night’s, and wouldn’t take the painease I thought he ought to have when we got to
Firecat.

Paladin had said to go to Manticore and he’d explain on the way, so I did. Kiffit-Port gave me no nevermind when I took
Firecat up.
Transit to angeltown was smooth, and looking out the canopy at hyper space should of made me feel lots better than it did. We was all three of us off Kiffit. Alive.

But Tiggy trusted me as much as hellflowers do, and if I wasn’t selling him up the Market Garden path, I was coming pretty close. I’d told him I’d take him to his da, not on a guided tour of the never-never. It was eight days to Manticore. He’d be sure to notice.

Hell, he already knew, if he’d been paying attention back at Silver Dagger’s. I looked at what she’d got me into. The trip-tik was just what Rimini said it was: some kiddy hight Parxifal Quarl was waiting open armed on RoaqMhone for the cargo of chobosh I was going to hijack on Manticore. Fine. I’d worked with Parxifal before. Silk-sailing. No problem.

Only Tiggy expected I’d be kyting after
Pledge
like I promised. "Pally, now would be a good time to explain," I said, quiet-like. For a minute I thought he wasn’t going to answer.